Fatal Phantom: Ghost Butterfly
by SpazChan395
Summary: Fenton and Phantom have been separated for 2 years and have now come back together for a camping trip with their family. After the boys become stranded in the woods together, they accidentally step into another dimension. They discover it's filled with hostile ghosts and they must find their way out before they are trapped forever. Or die trying. NOT PITCH PEARL! R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

This is a crossover between Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly and Danny Phantom. Danny has split from his human half and ghost half and is now 2 entities, Fenton and Phantom. **NOT PITCH PEARL!** They are best friends or brothers! This was originally intended to stay on dA, but after some convincing from friends and my own opinions, I decided to post it here as well. There are currently several chapters posted there, and I will be uploading a chapter approximately once a week, maybe more often if I feel like it.

Rated M for future chapters containing blood/gore, language, and violence.

Disclaimer:

Danny Phantom © Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly © Tecmo

**I do not claim either of these franchise as my own, I only own this fanfic.**

...

It had been two years since Danny and his ghost side separated from one body, but it didn't feel like it had been that long. People treated them so differently now; the Fenton family had gained another son, though some say only by appearance. Since there were now two Danny's, they couldn't very well call them both by the same name. Their birth son was still called Danny, and their new ghost son was simply called Phantom. It felt demeaning somehow, only acknowledging him as a ghost rather than a boy with a real name. But he just brushed it off most of the time; after all, there couldn't really be two Danny's in the same household, right? But between the pair, they referred to each other as Fenton and Phantom; it had a nice ring to it, though they did call each other Danny on rare occasions. Jazz was really the only other person who picked up their names they gave each other, honoring their decision to call themselves that.

Summer was always fun, swimming, camping, goofing off, and best of all, no homework. Fenton graduated High School a year ago, and had started going to college to study astronomy for his dream to be a real astronaut. And after a long semester of studying, homework, and with final exams finally over, he was more than ready to relax and spend time with his family. Too bad Summer Break was only a few short weeks long.

After the human Danny graduated High School and moved to a dorm for college, the ghost Danny decided to stay and continue fighting other ghosts and protecting the town in his stead. He basically lived the same life Fenton had led before he left; he slept in his same bed, wore his same clothes-before his surrogate parents bought him his own, ate at the same table, hung out with Sam and Tucker when he had the chance, and played his video games during his down time. Fenton was sure surprised when he discovered his counterpart had beaten all his games and unlocked all the cool achievements for him.

Phantom never really liked his spandex suit, so he was glad when he got his own wardrobe. Most of his clothes were very similar to human Danny's, but with obvious homage's to his former attire. He usually wore a black short-sleeved shirt, with the DP emblem that he added for good measure, the sleeves and collar trimmed in white. His pants were black jeans with white stitching down the sides of his legs, the bottoms of the pants almost completely covering his white tennis shoes, and a white belt woven through the belt loops. Instead of his old white gloves, he opted for some white beaded cuffs around his wrists. Yep, his clothing style was almost the spitting image of Fenton's. But although it was summer, up in the mountains it was always a bit chilly, so the boys had decided to wear their jackets for the trip, colored and trimmed in their respective colors.

They were on their yearly 'family bonding' camping trip, Phantom included. Jack was never very fond of his new ghost son, but he tolerated him most of the time. Maddie insisted Phantom come along on the trip, since he was now part of the family after all, even if it was only by his past merge with their birth son.

They had almost finished setting up camp when Jack and Phantom got into yet another argument about the ghost teen coming along for a family vacation. Jack told him he wasn't part of the family and shouldn't have been allowed to come, while Phantom retorted about how he should be treated as family since he was joined once with their son. After the older man said that he would never be his son, just another ghost, Phantom stomped off furiously into the forest. Fenton chased after him, and they went deep into the woods, far away from the campsite. The ghost boy was already far ahead, and the raven-haired teen struggled to catch up.

After several minutes of running, Fenton came to a clearing by a shallow stream, birds chirping in the trees, the calming sound of running water, and leaves blowing in the wind. He followed along the stream until he saw his silver-haired friend, sitting on a log on the bank, tossing pebbles into the water, his face deep in thought. He didn't seem to notice Fenton sneaking up behind him, lost in his thoughts.

The raven-haired teen came up behind him, gave his back a shove then pulled him back, "Saved your life," he joked.

Phantom glared up at him, "Haha," he said sarcastically before turning his attention back toward the reflective water.

Fenton sighed lightly and sat down next to him, silent for a moment before he spoke, "You okay?"

"No, I'm _not _okay," Phantom threw another stone into the water, "why does your dad have to be like that?"

"Come on, give him some time," he kicked his feet slowly as his legs hung over the bank, "he's still trying to cope with the fact that he has a ghost for a son now."

"He's had _two years_to cope with that, how much more time does he need?" he picked up another stone, tossing it up and catching it in his hand a couple times, "He'll never see me as part of the family, just another ghost. At least your mom is nice to me, but she still insists I call her 'Mrs. Fenton' rather than mom."

"But Jazz cares about you," Fenton pointed out, "she loves spending time with you the same way she does with me."

Phantom thought for a moment before tossing the stone into the water, "Yeah, that's true, but she's the only person that really does," he brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, "I'll never really be part of this family ... "

"Don't go emo on me Phantom," Fenton joked again.

The ghost teen smirked, "When I start cutting myself and writing songs about it is when you should start worrying."

The raven-haired teen stared at his kicking feet in silence, before smiling and leaned his shoulder against his friend's, "Do you remember what we said the day we separated?"

Phantom sat quietly, "Yeah ... yeah, I remember ... "

Fenton continued, "We said that even though we're separate people now, we'd always be together. Even if they don't view you as family, I still see you as my friend, and brother."

Phantom continued his quiet thought, Fenton still resting against his shoulder. The ghost teen then smirked, "You're so sentimental sometimes."

He slowly reached a hand behind the other teen's back and pushed him into the water.

Fenton sat up, spitting water, "Hey!"

The ghost boy laughed as he brought his legs down from his chest, "Haha, looks like I forgot to save _your _life."

Fenton glared up at his laughing friend, then reached up, grabbed his legs and pulled him into the water with him. Phantom sat dumbfounded in the stream, watching his counterpart laugh at him. He growled and splashed him in the face, and Fenton splashed back. Their splash fight continued for several more minutes, they laughed the whole time, just having fun together. They stood up in the stream facing each other, their laughter starting to subside.

Suddenly, a voice came from far away, "Fenton! Phantom! Where are you?" they heard Jazz call out.

"Danny! Danny come back!" they heard Maddie.

With a heavy sigh, the silver-haired boy started wringing water out of his clothes, "Come on, I guess we'd better head back."

"Okay," Fenton messed up his hair to get the water out, stepping out of the stream, "they're probably gonna be upset with us for getting all wet."

"Oh no, what ever shall we do," Phantom said sarcastically, "they're already mad at us for running away, one more thing isn't gonna make much difference."

"Yeah, probably," Fenton started walking away, "let's go, we don't want them worrying more than they already are."

Phantom stepped one foot up on the bank, but something caught his eye. Fenton had walked several paces and realized he didn't hear his counterpart's footsteps behind him. He turned and saw him across the stream, following something wispy and green.

"Phantom? Where are you going?" he called back to him.

The ghost boy acted as if he didn't hear him, and continued walking forward, practically hypnotized by the glowing object, disappearing into the forest.

Fenton wasn't sure what he was doing, but he ran back across the stream and struggled up the slightly steeper bank on the other side, "Phantom wait! Where are you going?"

He chased after his friend; he could barely see him through the dark trees. He didn't even seem to notice the stone statues as he ran. The second he stepped passed them; everything went dark, and somehow heavy. The happily chirping birds and running water went silent, the only sound was the wind blowing. What just happened?

Fenton shook his head, focusing back on finding Phantom. He ran off in the direction he knew the ghost boy was going. He soon saw his silhouette in the distance, moving slowly but somehow faster than he was.

"Phantom! Wait!"

He was starting to catch up, but it almost looked like his friend was flickering, fading in and out of form. He momentarily thought he saw the shape of a girl instead of his ghost counterpart, but how could that be?

**"Stop!"**he shouted and grabbed his shoulder.

The figure turned suddenly to him, all of the ambient noise stopped, then the figure disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Fenton gasped and pulled his hand back, gripping it to his chest. His hand felt cold and numb, a shiver ran down his spine. He decided he must be seeing things and shook his head again.

In the distance, he saw something glowing; it looked like the same thing Phantom was following. Cautiously, Fenton pursued it slowly, deciding that it would lead him to his friend. He came to a trail, and followed it and the green glowing object up a dark hill. The trail led to long, twisted stone stairs. There was a faint light at the top of the hill, beckoning the teen. His mind told him not to go, but he had to find his friend. It seemed like forever before he neared the top, and saw Phantom standing there, facing away.

"Phantom!" he called again and ran up the last few steps.

The silver-haired teen slowly turned toward him, a trance like daze on his face, and suddenly a cloud of green, wispy, what looked like butterflies scattered from around him. The light behind him came from dimly lit lanterns, slightly revealing old Japanese looking buildings. The sight looked ghastly, Fenton shivered again, wrapping his arms around himself.

"W-what is this place?" he stammered.

Phantom was silent for a moment, then whispered, "The lost village between our worlds."


	2. Chapter 2

It was an eerie, cold sight, like nothing they'd ever seen before. The sky was a dark, subdued indigo, nothing like the bright sky of the human world or the ghost zone. Clouds drifted slowly in front of the moon, not a single star shining. The sight of the village itself gave the boys shivers, just as dark and lifeless as a graveyard. The only light being from dimly lit paper lanterns and torches, which did little more than cast shadows against the old buildings. The air was cold and heavy, cold like a chill winter morning, yet there was no mist upon their breath, nor chills against their skin.

The pair stared in silence, neither sure what to say next. Words didn't need to be exchanged between them to know how frightened each other was. Phantom's words had set the scene a bit it too well, it did indeed look like a lost village, trapped in time. But just where was this village?

Fenton finally broke the silence, the only real question he could form, "W-what do you mean? 'The lost village between our worlds'?"

"Exactly how it sounds," Phantom turned back to him, "a village from long ago, it lies in neither the ghost zone nor human world. More like a 'limbo realm' than anything else."

"How do you know about it?" the raven-haired teen stammered again, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to keep what seemed to be imaginary cold away from his body.

"You've been away from home for a year, I learned a few things about the ghost zone while you were away. I don't know all the details, just that this is a place that technically doesn't even exist," the ghost teen returned his gaze back to the village.

Fenton turned and faced the path they'd taken, "Can't we just turn around and go back?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Phantom scratched his chin, "I heard that once you enter the 'limbo realm', there's no escape. But that's all I've heard, it could probably just be some made-up garbage the other ghosts said to scare me."

"So shouldn't we at least try to go-" his words were cut off as he watched the darkness and mist envelop the path, as if reading his mind about trying to escape. Another chill ran down his body, seeing their only possibility of any escape being swallowed up.

"Guess not," Phantom said as he looked over his shoulder, half-heartedly making a joke out of the situation. He turned his attention back toward the village, sighed and stepped forward.

"Wait!" Fenton shouted a bit too loudly, "Where are you going?"

"If we can't go out that way, the only way is to keep moving forward," the silver-haired teen smirked over his shoulder, "unless you want to stay here by yourself ... "

"No way!" he shouted again and launched himself toward Phantom, gripping his arm as a scared toddler would with its mother.

"Calm down," Phantom growled, "it's not _that _bad."

"Speak for yourself! You're the one with ghost powers, I lost them when we separated, so of course I'm gonna be scared!"

Phantom sighed, "I heard that ghosts lose their powers here too, so I guess we're stuck in the same boat." He felt his counterpart shaking against him, and decided to shut his mouth before he said something he shouldn't.

They walked through the gateway and down what looked like Main Street, that ran down the center of town. All the buildings and houses looked the same, and it would be easy to get lost if you weren't paying attention. The only sound they heard were their footsteps on the smooth, yet worn stone road, being amplified and echoing against the walls.

Fenton released his friend's arm as they continued, still terrified by the sight that surrounded them, yet didn't want them to be tripping over each other as they walked. But he stayed close, just in arm's length in case something decided to jump out and yell 'boo'. The thought was slightly funny, but this was not the place to joke around, not in how serious the situation was.

As they came to one building, the shadow of a figure walked passed a light behind a door. Fenton jumped and let out a squeak of fear, both boys stopped and watched the light. The raven-haired teen started to shake slightly, but then felt a comforting hand placed on his shoulder.

"There's nothing to worry about," Phantom said, "You've got me looking out for you," he added smugly.

Fenton relaxed a bit and placed his hand over the hand on his shoulder. Phantom walked passed him, but the hand on his shoulder remained, as if from someone else. The teen gasped and spun around, but no one was there. He looked up and down the street, but nothing. Was his mind playing tricks on him?

"Hey, Fenton," his counterpart tried to get his attention, "you coming?" he examined the sliding door to see if it was unlocked.

"Wait!" Fenton gasped and gripped the hem of his shirt, "You're not seriously going in there, are you?!"

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know what's in there!"

"Well, I wanna find out," the ghost boy slowly slid the door open, "you can stay out here if you want," he smirked over his shoulder, "all by yourself ..."

Fenton tensed up, weighing his options; go inside and get eaten by some monster, or stay outside and get eaten by some monster. Oh the decisions ...

He gasped as Phantom went in without him, **"Hey wait up!" **and ran in after him.

But Phantom hadn't gone very far inside, and Fenton ran into his back with a loud thud, "Come on Fenton," he growled again, "don't be such a baby. Geez, it's a wonder you survived being away from home at college without me."

"I was in the _human _world then!" the scared teen waved his arms above his head, "Not some 'point-of-no-return' horror town!"

The silver-haired teen was about to answer when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and turned just in time to see a grey wisp of smoke disappear, "What was that?"

**"Stop trying to scare me!" **Fenton clenched his hands to his sides and shouted back.

"Sh!" Phantom hushed him sharply in a quiet tone, "I'm serious, I saw something."

Fenton did as he was told, swallowing hard. It was then he actually looked around the room. It was a wide, rundown room, exposed support beams of rotting wood. Torn curtains and shutters lined the spacious room. A well-worn staircase to one side of the room leading up to the balcony of the second floor, a pair of sliding doors to the other, and a hallway directly in front of them.

Phantom straightened up, putting on a brave face, "Come on, there might be clues or something to help us get out of here," he stepped forward a few paces, then realized Fenton wasn't following.

He turned and saw a look of sheer terror on his friend's face. He had his arms wrapped tightly around himself, his body shaking uncontrollably, his breathing ragged, and his eyes wide and shifting at something unseen in the space in front of him.

"Fenton?" he said quietly, but didn't get a response from him. Phantom walked back to him, "Fenton, what's wro-" he grabbed his shoulders and felt a charge run up his body, his mind started to go fuzzy.

In his head, he saw flashes of visions that seemed like he was staring at an old black and white movie full of static. A woman walking through the halls of a house, fearfully calling for someone, _"Where are you?"_ slowly moving toward a door behind a curtain. A flash of people dressed in old oriental clothing, the house somewhat restored to its original state. Then he heard voices chanting, small bells chiming, and saw a staircase leading underground. A girl in a white kimono stood in the dark, voices continuing their chanting, something repeated about a ritual. The sounds and voices started blending together into one static sound, then silence as a single voice spoke. _"I don't want to kill anymore." _Then flashes of lightening, screams of terror, darkness and death, and an evil manic laughter all throughout the horror.

Phantom gasped, released Fenton's shoulders and stepped back, his eyes wide and he panted in fear from what he had just seen. Was that a hallucination? A premonition? He didn't know, but he certainly didn't like it, "W-what was that?" he asked absent-mindedly.

The other teen shook his head slowly, "I don't know, but it was so real," he looked up at his friend, "I wanna go home."

The ghost boy hesitantly grabbed his shoulders again, but thankfully didn't see another vision from the contact, "We _are_gonna find a way home, but we've gotta stick together and keep our heads together."

Fenton sniffed and nodded. They held each others hand and cautiously continued through the house, down the hallway, an old decorative curtain hung in the middle. Phantom slowly brushed it aside and saw another staircase, this one going down. They stepped slowly down each step, which creaked from baring weight it hadn't had to in many years. At the bottom of the steps, the hall forked to left and right, Phantom peeked around the corner on the left to see if it was clear. There was the grey wispy figure he'd caught a glimpse of before, and it vanished through the wall. He didn't want to worry Fenton more than he already was, so he ignored it and continued. Down at the end of the long hallway was a swinging door, lit by a small lantern. The ghost teen led the way, slowly turned the knob and pushed it open.

It looked like an abandoned storage room, stripped of every article it might have contained; needless to say there was nothing of any use. Phantom furrowed his eyebrows and closed the door, "Nothing in there."

"Let's try that other door," Fenton pointed to another door at the other end of the hall.

Phantom nodded and they headed toward that door, he faintly heard a woman's voice.

_"I kept searching for you."_

Again, he ignored it for Fenton's sake and kept moving. The door at the other end of the hall was a sliding door, open just ajar. This time, Fenton felt adventurous enough to open it himself, and slid it slowly open, dust sprinkled from the top of the guardrail, and he quickly closed it behind them as they entered.

This room looked like an old guest room, but it appeared as though they had left in a hurry. The furniture was in disarray, crates scattered around the floor, some broken and splintered. If someone was here, maybe they left something behind they could use. Toward the back of the room, a pair of flashlights lay discarded.

"Oh thank god!" Fenton let go of Phantom's hand and rushed forward to pick them up, "Now we can at least see where we're going!" and tossed one of them to his friend.

"Hmm, two flashlights? That's convenient," Phantom said to himself as he examined it and accidentally turned it on in his face, causing him to growl and rub his eyes.

Fenton turned his on, glad that it was still working, though he didn't know how long it had been there. He flashed it around the room to see if there was anything else they could find. He then heard a voice in his head.

_"It's too dangerous ... " _he heard in the back of his mind.

Cautiously, he shined the light to one corner of the room, something just behind a crate reflected the light. The raven-haired teen got down on his hands and knees and carefully pushed the crate aside. Lying on the floor was an old camera, it was very squared and boxy-looking, the lens folded out like an accordion, a thick scrap looped from two corners-probably to hang around one's neck. It was old and covered in dust, having been left behind years ago. He pushed the crate farther aside to see if he could reach it, when it revealed a slightly smaller, rounder style camera, still nothing high tech like those nowadays, but this one still didn't look from a more recent era.

Phantom peeked over his shoulder, "Two cameras? Now that's _too _convenient. What do they do?""

"I dunno," Fenton reached for them and picked them up, almost dropping them from the awkward angle. He brushed some of the dust off one and blew the rest away. He rolled it around in his hands and noticed writing on the bottom, which he read aloud to Phantom.

"Camera Obscura."

Phantom rested his hands on his knees as he peeked over his shoulder, "So what does it do?" he repeated.

"I dunno-" he was cut off by a charge through his hands and a vision shown in his mind again.

A man in his late forties stood in front of what looked like a cage or a coffin in the center of a dark room, bound in rope and spell tags and chained from each side of the room to hold it steady and upright. _"So, this is the Camera Obscura ... it takes pictures of impossible things."_ He slowly raised the camera up to his eye as he looked at the coffin, as if waiting for something. Suddenly, hundreds of hands reached from within the coffin and grabbed at him. At that moment, he flashed the camera at it to take its picture, and the hands disappeared with a shriek. The man dropped the camera and stumbled back, _"What was that?"_ his voice echoed. The coffin stood unmoved and untouched, as if the hands had reached _through_ it. _"So it's true ... this thing is too dangerous."_

Fenton gasped as his vision ended, nearly dropping the camera in his hands.

Phantom stood up and took a step back, "What was that?"

The raven-haired teen studied the camera once more, " I ... I think it takes pictures of 'impossible things' or something like that. It looked like some kind of weapon ... against ghosts or spirits or something."

"Whoa!" Phantom took another step back and held his hands up in self-defense, "Don't point that thing at me, I don't wanna get hurt, I'm a ghost remember?"

Fenton looked down at the other one in his lap, "But why are there two?"

"Probably the same principle with Pokémon cards. Some might be extremely rare, but there isn't just one of each, right?" the ghost boy joked. They studied the cameras a moment longer, then Phantom quickly reached forward and grabbed the one out of Fenton's hands, "Dibs on the big one!"

"Hey!" Fenton leaned back and half-heartedly tried to grab it back, "This isn't a game or anything!"

"Yeah? Well, I still want it," he said smugly and used the hem of his shirt to wipe dust out from around the rim of the lens, "I bet it's more powerful than the other one," he teased as he hung it around his neck.

Fenton sighed and dusted off the remaining camera in his hands, the bottom of this one read 'Camera Obscura 2', another neck strap attached for convenience, and looked like it could fold up from an average size into a pocket sized form, easier to carry. Maybe it was a prototype or new version? Bigger isn't always better. If they were some kind of weapon, they'd definitely need them. But who left them behind? He turned a knob on it to make sure it still worked, it made a buzzing sound as it turned on.

Suddenly, they heard slow moving footsteps walking down the hall. Fenton jumped to his feet and grabbed Phantom's arm, more for comfort than support. The footsteps came closer and closer, then stopped right outside the door. There was a pause, then a scratching sound against the door, as if someone, or some_thing_, was trying to get in.

Fenton shook in fear, but Phantom kept his composure. He was used to fighting all sorts of enemies, and didn't scare easily. He unwrapped the other teen's hands from around his arm and tiptoed toward the door. Fenton whimpered as he left contact, but the ghost boy turned around and held a finger to his lips in a 'shush' manner. The camera in Fenton's hands started to vibrate, and he held it to his face in feeble self-defense.

Phantom reached a slightly trembling hand toward the edge of the door, paused, then opened it a crack. The grey figure of a woman gazed calmly, yet menacingly through the crack, her eyes slightly covered by her long black hair. Phantom gasped and jumped back. Fenton was so startled, that out of reflex he hit the button to take a picture. The woman moaned, small bright orbs from her form were sucked into the camera lens, and she disappeared.

Unfortunately, Phantom was caught in the crossfire, he cried out sharply as his some of his own life force was zapped into the camera as well. He fell forward slightly, catching himself on the edge of the door and gripped his head groaning. Fenton gasped, dropped the camera and rushed toward his friend.

"Oh my gosh!" he grabbed his shoulders to help the ghost teen steady his feet, "Are you okay? I'm so-"

Phantom turned to him angrily, **"I told you not to point that thing at me!"** and pushed Fenton, still rubbing his head, **"If that thing really **_**does**_** destroy or exorcize or whatever it does to ghosts, it could **_**kill**_** me!"**

The raven-haired teen stared at him in shock, a huge wave of guilt overcame him. He twiddled his fingers and looked down at his feet, "I'm sorry Phantom ... I didn't mean to hurt you ... I just got so scared and I just ... it just ... " he stumbled for the words.

Phantom rubbed his head and stared at his friend for a few more moments, "It's okay, it wasn't your fault, just please don't do that again."

Fenton hung his head in shame, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again," he looked back up at his silver-haired friend, "But are you okay?"

Phantom shook his head and straightened up, "Yeah, just a little dizzy is all. We'd probably better get out of here. If that camera did that kind of damage to me, then that ghost is probably still around."

Fenton gasped and looked around fearfully, "Y-yeah, let's go," he ran back, pick up the camera, and grabbed Phantom's hand.

The ghost teen looked down at his hand and laughed lightly, "You're such a pansy sometimes."


	3. Chapter 3

The pair made their way back upstairs, trying to find the front door to get out of this haunted house before that ghost woman came back. Phantom's headache had subsided thankfully, but he still felt a tiny piece of himself missing.

They reached the main floor, and Fenton made a mad dash for the door. He tried to slide it open, but it wouldn't budge. Another wave of fear swept over him, "The door's stuck!"

Phantom walked toward the door and tried to open it himself, "That thing locked us in here," he grit his teeth.

The raven-haired teen looked around frantically, "What're we gonna do? What're we gonna do? What're we gonna do?"

"Hey!" Phantom tried to get his attention, "Calm down, I can't have you falling to pieces on me."

_"Why?" _they heard a voice behind them.

They spun around to see the ghost woman on the other side of the room, staring at a wall to their left. Fenton squeaked again and jumped back. With his well tuned reflexes, Phantom grabbed the camera around his neck and flashed a picture at the specter. She acted as if she didn't even feel it, and disappeared into vapor. The ghost boy glared down at his camera, studying it for a moment.

"I think she was too far away to get a good shot," he said to himself, before walking forward.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Fenton asked loudly.

"I'm gonna go find it," Phantom said over his shoulder as he kept walking.

**"What?! Why would you wanna do that?" **Fenton gripped the hem of his shirt again.

"I think if we kill it, the door will open," Phantom held his camera ready, just in case she popped up again, "I'm pretty sure she's holding the door closed."

The other teen whimpered before following his friend, fiddling with his fingers nervously. Phantom looked around with the camera up to his eye, trying to see if he could see through the viewfinder for a better shot, but there wasn't anything there. He slowly made a sweep across the room, trying to see if he could spot her somewhere.

"Where'd she go?" he lowered the camera from his face.

There was the pair of sliding doors directly in front of them, but which one to open? Phantom used the age-old method to decide, "Eeny, meeny, minny, mo," and pointed toward the right door.

He reached toward it to open it;, and thankfully it was unlocked. It slid open quite easily; he shined his flashlight to either side to make sure everything was clear. No ghost, but plenty of scattered objects to look through. Cautiously, he stepped through the door.

"Wait!" Fenton protested once more, "You're not actually going in there, are you?"

"There might be some kind of clue in here," Phantom said, keeping his focus toward the room, "I wanna make sure to search this whole house to see we can find anything that might help."

Fenton continued to grip the hem of his shirt; hesitant as to whether to follow his friend or stay out here, neither of which sounded particularly enticing. But he decided to follow Phantom; like he said, they had to stick together.

It looked like just any old plain room, a bench to the left with shelves above it, a desk to the right, with a closet on the opposite wall; the room was divided by a net.

"You check behind there," Phantom motioned toward the desk, "I'll check over here."

The raven-haired teen wanted to protest again, but instead did as he was instructed. He brushed passed the net, pulling cobwebs from the wall, and tiptoed toward the desk as if it was poisonous. Phantom bent on the ground, shining his flashlight under the bench; nothing but dust and broken wood. He then checked the shelves, shuffling through some empty cans and a wooden box.

Fenton slowly opened the drawers, feeling around for anything that might be invisible, nothing there either. He then cautiously approached the closet door, trying to pull it open. It was jammed but after a couple tries it squeaked open. He flashed his light around it and noticed something on the floor.

"Phantom," he spoke softly, "come here, I think I found something."

Phantom instantly stopped what he was doing and made his way passed the net and stood next to Fenton, "What is it? What did you find?"

The other teen reached a trembling hand down and picked up an old sheet of paper; it looked like something from a diary, with a key attached to it. There was writing on the page, which he read aloud.

_"Someone! Anyone! Whoever sees this, look for me. I'm trapped in this village. HELP ME!"_

They both stared at it in silence before Fenton spoke again, "W-what do you think that means?"

Phantom scratched his chin, "I dunno, maybe—"

_"I've been looking for you," _came a voice behind them.

They both jumped and turned around, just in time to see the ghost woman exiting the room behind them. Phantom tried to flash his camera again, but she disappeared through the door. He growled angrily, grabbed the paper and key and jammed them into his pocket, and pushed roughly passed the net and out the door to pursue her. Fenton squeaked again and followed closely behind his counterpart.

The silver-haired teen looked around the main room, but couldn't see any sign of her. He stood in the center, shining the flashlight in every direction.

_"Why did you leave?" _as her silhouette appeared briefly, climbing up the staircase.

"_Oh_, you're a tricky one, aren't you?" Phantom laughed to himself as he started for the staircase after her.

Fenton gasped, "Wait! That key might be to the front door!" and chased after Phantom.

The ghost teen ignored him and ran quickly up the stairs and looked around the corner in time to see her standing outside a door. _"Where is he?" _she asked herself. He raised his camera and took a picture, but she was still too far away and disappeared.

"Damnit!" he growled again.

Fenton ran up and hit Phantom's back with a thud. He grabbed his friend's arm, "What are you doing?! That key might—"

Phantom shrugged him off as he continued to follow the woman's trail and stood in front of the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. Stuffing his hand roughly into he pocket, he retrieved the key and inserted it into the lock; it snapped open.

He turned to Fenton, "Key to the front door huh?" he smirked.

"Well, I guess," Fenton felt a bit embarrassed, "but still! That might—"

"I still think she's the one holding the door closed," Phantom said quickly, "and if we destroy her, the door will open."

He then hesitated, suddenly scared about what lay behind the door, then pushed it open slowly and took a step forward. It looked like another guest room; the bed neatly made with an old torn blanket, a wooden dresser rotting against one side of the wall, trinkets scattered across the floor. To the left was a wide, spacious walk-in closet, which could've been another room by itself. Wooden boxes piled in the far corner, a tattered curtain draped to one side.

Phantom looked frantically around, "Where'd she go?" and growled in frustration, "I almost had her."

Fenton shuddered as he walked behind him, then noticed something on the floor, "Phantom, look over there."

The ghost teen shined the light at a spot near the center of the closet. Lying on the floor were several more torn sheets of paper, hard to distinguish from years of lying undisturbed. Phantom knelt down and picked them up; they were written in feminine penmanship. He reached back into his pocket, he pulled out the wrinkled paper they'd found before and shifted through all the pages, trying to match them up.

Phantom read silently over the pages, then summarized to Fenton as he continued to study them, "It looks like a woman's diary … she came into this house … looking for her boyfriend … but I can't make some of this out," scribbled frenzied writing throughout the rest, as if she'd written the last passages in a hurry.

Fenton shivered and looked around the room again, as if looking for any other clues. He turned his flashlight back to Phantom and gasped loudly.

The ghost boy looked over his shoulder, "What? What's wrong?"

Fenton just stared in horror, backing away slowly. Everything suddenly went completely silent. It was then Phantom heard someone whisper into his ear.

_"Why?"_

He inhaled sharply and slowly turned his head to look over his other shoulder. Staring back at him, was the face of the ghost woman they'd been following, mere inches away from his face, a single eye showing from under her hair.

Phantom gasped and backed away on his hands and feet. The woman gradually rose to a standing position and repeated, _"Why?"_

He jumped up and readied his camera, but she disappeared. They knew she was still in the room, but couldn't see her. They could still hear her moaning sadly to herself, but couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. Fenton covered his eyes with his hands, as if thinking that would somehow protect him from the ghost. Phantom looked around the room, his camera ready for any moment. He saw her faintly behind Fenton, reaching for him. With another gasp, he snapped a picture just as she touched the raven-haired teen.

Fenton cried out in fear and scrambled away as she moaned again, small blue orbs vanished into the camera and she turned invisible again.

**"Watch out with that thing!"** Fenton shouted in fear, **"It might hurt me too!"**

"It only does that to _ghosts_, you idiot!" Phantom spat back at him, "Next time I _won't _try to save your life!"

Before either could say anything else, the woman reappeared, only feet away from Phantom, glaring angrily at him before floating forward. _"I missed you." _He snapped another picture, she gasped in the same manner and retreated into the wall. The teens decided to cease their arguing until they destroyed the ghost. She didn't reappear, but they could still hear her moans from somewhere.

Fenton flashed his light around the room before settling it on Phantom, **"Behind you!" **he pointed.

Phantom turned just in time before she could grab him, and flashed his camera one last time. With a bright flash she screamed in pain, then vaporized while once again repeating, _"Why?"_

Both boys panted heavily, shocked by what they just saw. This fortunately verified that these cameras were weapons against any ghosts they might encounter, though the thought terrified Fenton. They started to relax a bit, knowing that the ghost woman was gone.

Fenton jumped when he heard a static sound from one corner of the room. They shined their lights in unison in the direction of the sound and saw a radio, small enough fit in the palm of their hand. The static continued, the same kind as someone tuning it between different stations. It intrigued Fenton, and now that the ghost was gone, he wasn't quite so frightened of every single thing. Maybe it was another clue?

He stooped down to pick it up, turning the knobs on it to see if he could get a clearer sound. Through the static, he could barely hear one voice, and pressed his ear closer to the speaker, _" … where did you go? … without you … I …" _then the radio fell silent.

Fenton studied it in his hands, "I think it let's you hear their thoughts, or something," he placed it carefully in his pocket, "It might help us with—"

He turned around; Phantom was gone. His heart stopped and he looked frantically around the room, "Ph-phantom? Where are you?"

Downstairs came the sound of the front door sliding open. With another loud gasp, Fenton grabbed his light and dashed out of the room. He made it to the railing just in time to see his friend, standing in front of the now open door.

He looked slowly up at him, _"I'm sorry … "_ his voice sounded overlain by a young girl's, a dazed look on his face, _" … I have to go …" _then turned away and stepped out the door.

Fenton's eyes widened, "Phantom! Wait!" but the door closed behind his friend.

He ran to the stairs, but tripped halfway down them, hitting his head hard. Everything started to spin as Fenton climbed to his feet. Somehow he managed to make it to the door and clumsily slid it open again, nearly falling against the frame. He looked up and down the street, and just barely caught a glimpse of Phantom disappearing around a corner, a glowing green butterfly fluttering behind him.

"Phantom!" he managed to shout as he tried to follow after him, stumbling over his own feet as he tried to catch up.

Fenton rounded the corner, grabbing the edge to keep his footing. He shook his head trying to clear it, just in time to see Phantom turn another corner down the road, following a glowing light. He ran after him, panting from fear and his exertion. Where was he going?

The teen turned the next corner; down was a long road, shallow steps in the center to level it off. High above it was a tall, straight-railed bridge, connecting two buildings. All the way at the end of the road, there was a giant wooden gate with a high wooden fence running along either side as if closing off something on the other side. Standing in front of the gates was Phantom, green butterflies beckoning him.

**"Phantom stop!" **the raven-haired teen shouted as he ran forward, almost tripping down the steps.

Phantom didn't seem to hear or acknowledge him; he placed both his palms against the wood and slowly pushed the heavy doors open and walked through. Fenton reached a hand toward him, but the gate closed. A splinter from the wood caught one of the ghost teen's cuffs and tore it off. Fenton ran face first into the door from the momentum with a loud echoing sound. He groaned loudly in pain, rubbing his face with his palm. After shaking his head, looked back up at the tall gate.

**"Phantom! Open the door!"** he pounded his fists against it, pushing hard to try to open it. **"Damn it Phantom! Open the damn door!" **he roared angrily and kicked at it with his foot trying everything he could.

Finally, Fenton exhausted himself and slumped against the door, panting heavily. He rested his forehead against the gate, his eyes pinched shut, "You can't leave me here alone," he whispered, fighting back tears, and slid to the ground on his knees.

He opened his eyes and saw something reflecting on the ground; it was Phantom's beaded cuff. Carefully, he picked up the article, holding it in his hand as if it was a precious relic. One of the strings had popped and a few beads fell off. Absent-mindedly, Fenton strung the beads back on and tied a knot to secure them, and stared at it a while longer.

From his pocket came the static sound again from the radio he forgot he had. The raven-haired teen was about to ignore it, when he heard Phantom's voice coming from it. He gasped, jerked it out of his pocket and pressed it to his ear.

_" … why … butterflies … its calling … they're calling me … no … it's not us …" _then silence.

He held it in his shaking hands; what did that mean? Where is he going? 'Butterflies calling me'? It didn't make any sense; but then again, what in this world _did _make sense? Fenton sighed heavily and placed the radio and cuff into one of his pockets, standing up slowly. The air felt heavy and suffocating.

_"There they are," _voices rasped behind him.

Fenton stiffened, spun around and shined his light in the direction the voices came from, then covered his mouth at what he saw. Three ghostly men in tattered clothing were approaching him slowly, a torch in one hand and a sickle in the other, stalking gradually toward him.

_"Don't let them escape,"_ one of them moaned.


	4. Chapter 4

Fenton shined his light upon the ghosts as he shook in fear and began hyperventilating. They stalked slowly toward him, moaning gibberish to each other. The teen pressed his back as hard as he could against the wood, barely able to hold the flashlight in his quivering hand. He stared frantically from one ghost to the other, unable to form a clear thought. What do they want?

He suddenly remembered the camera hanging around his neck. Fenton fumbled it in his hand, pointed it toward the ghosts, and pressed the button. But he apparently had pressed the wrong one; the camera made a low winding down sound, then folded itself into a tight box the size of a wallet.

Fenton gasped loudly and attempted to pry it open, smacking the side with his palm and shaking it violently, but it wouldn't budge, **"No no no no no! **_**Not now!**_**"**

He looked back up just in time to see one of the ghosts swinging his sickle down at him. Fenton barely managed to duck in time, the sharp tip embedded in the gate where his head would have been. The other ghosts flailed their torches and makeshift weapons at him as they got closer, their moans growing louder and more desperate. The raven-haired teen ducked and dodged their blows with clumsy agility, then broke through them and ran down the road as fast as he could, daring not to turn back.

_"Don't lose them!" _another voice cried out angrily.

Thankfully they were desperately slow, and as Fenton veered off into an alley, then made a sharp turn into another, jumped a wooden fence, and hid behind the wall of a house, they couldn't keep up. The raven-teen ducked down on his rear, pressed his back against the cold stone, and turned off his flashlight so they wouldn't be able to see him. He covered his mouth with his shaking hands, trying to keep as quiet as possible, though his panting through his nose was very loud. But he hoped that he was still quiet enough that they wouldn't hear.

He peeked cautiously around the corner and saw the light from the torches pass gradually by through the cracks between the planks of wood. Breathing a sigh of relief, Fenton spent the next several minutes trying to catch his breath. Why were those villagers chasing him in the first place?

There was a slight numb sensation in his left upper arm. He looked down at the numbing area, slowly rolled his sleeve up and started gently massaging an old scarred injury on his bicep.

"Gotta remember not to get too worked up," he said quietly to himself, rotating it with his shoulder to get the circulation going again, "I might need this arm later."

After a few more minutes, Fenton carefully stood back on his feet and looked around at his surroundings, still rubbing his arm. It looked like the edge of town; a small dirt road wound around the back of the two other houses on either side of the one his was standing behind. The other side of the road plunged downward to a steep grassy cliff. A gravel patch stood behind each house, probably meant to be backyards.

The raven-haired teen stepped forward a couple paces to peek over the edge of the cliff; nothing but darkness and mist, the same that covered their path when he and Phantom first entered town.

"Phantom … " he looked up at the cloudy, gloomy sky, " … where are you?"

"Yae!" a male voice called behind him, causing him to jump and spin around to face the person it came from, "Yae! What are you still doing here?"

A young man gripped the bars of a small window at the back of the house, dressed in an aged brown yukata. His hair was platinum white and cut in a flat straight style, and he was obviously of Asian decent. His clothes, face, and hair were dirty and torn, as if he'd been beaten or something. After looking at the bars on the window, Fenton realized something; it wasn't a house, it was a prison.

"What are you still doing here?" the man repeated, "Where's Sae?"

"Sae?" the teen furrowed his eyebrows, "Who is Sae? And who are you?"

The young man seemed offended, "Don't you recognize me? It's Itsuki, they captured me while I was trying to help you two escape, but where is Yae?"

"Look 'Itsuki'," Fenton put his hands on his hips, "I don't know who you are or what you're talking—" he then realized the last part the man said, "Wait, did you say you know a way out of the village?" he grasped for hope.

Itsuki continued, "You and Yae have to get out of here before the ritual starts!"

"What ritual? Who's Sae? Or Yae for that matter? What the heck are you talking about? I'm looking for my friend Phantom. P-h-a-n-t-o-m."

"If they've captured Sae, they've taken her to the Kurosawa House on the other side of the gate," the man seemed as though he hadn't heard anything Fenton had asked, "if you can find her, you might be able to save her and escape."

"I don't care about who these Yae or Sae people are, what about Phantom? Is that where he is? And why are you calling me two different names?"

"There are two keys you need to open the gate," he pointed through the bars at a small statue, only about three feet tall, "they're scattered along the perimeter of the village next to the deity statues, but I can't remember which ones."

Fenton turned his flashlight back on to get a better look at the statue. It was made of old carved stone. The shape was much like one of those Matryoshka dolls with intricate designs and writing from a language the teen couldn't quite make out. The face was carved to look like an actual person, not that of a happy little toy.

"What are these? What do they do? Or mean?" Fenton bent down and reached a hand toward it. As soon as he made contact with it, he felt the strange sensation he'd felt before as another vision shown in his mind.

He saw a tunnel leading underground, heard the same sound of bells chiming. Then a wide, open cave with a deep pit in the center. Strange men stood on either side of a path that led to the pit, they looked like priests of some sort, their faces covered by a cloth. They beat their long staffs to the stone ground in rhythm, bells tied off at the top of the staffs. Just in front of the pit stood a pair of girls with long black hair, holding each others hand, facing the pit. They were obviously twins, and looked no older than ten years old. Then they slowly turned to each other, their faces hidden behind their long hair, and released each others hand. One reached her hands up to her sister's throat; neither spoke a word but he could hear one speak in his mind. _"Together forever."_

With a loud gasp, Fenton retracted his hand as if the statue was a snake ready to strike. He crawled backward away from it; what was that?

"You must find the keys to the gate and save Sae before it's too late," and the young man started to disappear.

**"Wait!"** the raven-haired teen scrambled to his feet, ran to the window, stood on his tiptoes to reach the bars and look inside, **"What about Phantom? Is that where I can find him?"**

But Itsuki had already disappeared, leaving Fenton alone again. He growled and released the bars, sliding back down to his feet. For the next few minutes, all the teen could do was stand there, staring at the wall, trying to let everything sink in. All he knew was that he had to rescue Phantom, no matter the cost, and he knew his counterpart would do the same for him.

Fenton shined his light back toward the statue, studying it for a while longer, making sure he knew what to look for throughout the village. With a deep breath, the raven-haired teen straightened up and followed the path toward the right. It seemed like forever before he reached another statue down the road. He rushed toward it, hoping to find a piece of the key Itsuki was talking about, but found nothing. How many of these are there? Do I have to search the entire village?

After more walking, Fenton came across another statue. He didn't think much about it, until he saw something reflecting next to it. This brought him some hope, and he dashed forward. Lying in the grass next to the statue was a strange key; it looked like the palm of a right hand, though it was carved into a rectangular shape, only looking like a hand by the carving decoration on it.

"One down one to go," he whispered as he carefully put it into his pocket.

It was then he heard the familiar moaning, and saw the light from torches out of the corner of his eye. Fenton gasped and started running down the road, trying to put as much distance as he could between him and the mob. As he ran, he came to another statue; he shined the flashlight at it, but nothing reflected so he decided to keep moving as fast as he could.

The teen thought he'd lost the villagers, when another group appeared in front of him on the path. He skid to a stop and attempted to turn and run the other way, but saw the other villagers quickly descending upon him. He shined his light back and forth, realizing he was trapped, and still didn't know what they had planned.

Fenton looked at the building to his right and saw it, a ladder! It led to the rooftop of the house. At least it was some chance of escape. He made a mad dash for it, putting the flashlight in his teeth so he could use both hands to climb. Grasping the either edges with is hands, the raven-haired teen clambered up the steps, just barely missing the heat of a torch being swung at him.

He heaved himself onto the ledge of the ceramic shingles, struggling to keep his grip. The villagers shouted angrily below him, moaning something incomprehensible, save for one phrase repeated, _"Don't let them escape!"_

The rooftop was slanted into an upside-down 'V' shape, and the steep angle was hard to climb. Fenton barely managed to make it to the top, standing and holding his arms out to help keep his balance. Was he safe up there? Highly doubtful. When the teen was sure he could keep his balance, he started to make his way across the top. If he could just manage to stay out of their reach …

He heard scraping feet against the ladder; they were trying to climb it! Fenton decided to screw it and run. It was very clumsy and tricky, but it was working, until he came to the divide between the houses. Great, he was going to have to jump. With a leap of faith, he barely made it over rooftop, accidentally kicking down several shingles from it. Maybe he could keep this up, or at least until he was out of range for them to surround him again.

It seemed like he was running forever, jumping from roof to roof of several houses, gaining very little ground, when the light from his flashlight caught something. Was it the second piece of the key?! Suddenly, Fenton tripped over his feet, his left foot trying to double step his right. He hit the angled roof hard and started to slide down. Just before he hit the ground, he managed to grab the corner, saving himself from a nasty fall. But it wasn't over, he was still being chased.

Luckily he was just far enough ahead that he could make a slight detour to inspect the shining object. _Yes!_ It_ was _the other piece of the key, half hidden under the statue. He pulled on it, trying to pry the key loose, but it wouldn't budge. The angry mob was getting closer, and Fenton was getting more desperate. He pressed both his feet against the statue and pushed with all his might. Just before they could reach him, the stone statue gave way and tumbled noisily down the cliff.

The villagers shrieked in anguish as they watched they're precious deity statue plunge over the side into the darkness. While mourning the loss of their ancient relic, they were distracted long enough for Fenton to pull himself to his feet, shove the key into his pocket, and run for his life, literally. He turned a corner, then another and another, not sure exactly where he was going, just that he had to put as much distance as he could between himself and the mob.

Fenton came to a familiar sight, the street running down the center of the village! He followed it, hoping he was going in the right direction. The large wooden gate was just up ahead! If only he could make it before—

_"There they are," _came more voices, close on his heels.

The raven-haired teen picked up the pace, knowing that whatever lay behind the gate was safer than this side, maybe. He ran down the steps toward the door, the sight of the torches behind him growing closer. He hit the wood with a loud echoing thud, but he refused to let that slow him down. With his hands trembling, he frantically tried to force the pieces of the key together, creating what looked like two hands side by side.

Fenton searched wildly for the keyhole it was supposed to fit into, only to realize it was directly in front of him. With an internal face-palm, he jammed it in sideways, turning it to the right as any normal key would. He looked over his shoulder; the villagers were mere yards away! There was a loud click as the lock relented. The raven-haired teen pushed the heavy door open with all his might, making a crack just big enough for him to squeeze through.

He retrieved the key from its hole and let the doors slam closed behind him. The last chore that needed to be done; he had to lock the gate from this side, turning it to the left, this time seeming a bit more strenuous. The mob pounded loudly against the doors, but fortunately they were unable to open it. After several minutes of trying, they gave up and retreated.

Fenton fell on his knees, breathing heavily and sweat running down his face. He felt his left arm starting to go numb again, and gripped it tightly, running his hand up and down it. The teen didn't know how much more of this he could handle, but he had to find Phantom, no matter what lay before him.

After finally catching him breath, he stood back up and shined his flashlight down the path to see where it led it. Fenton widened his eyes when he saw it, **"Are you freaking kidding me?!"**

It was a creepy old wooden bridge, not three feet above a murky lake that led into the mist. It looked like a single step might cause it to collapse, and Fenton was _not _in the mood to swim in water the consistence of watered-down syrup. Did he seriously have to cross it?

...

Phantom blinked several times as he tried to focus in the dark, "What the hell just happened?" and looked about his surroundings, "Where am I?"

It appeared as though he was in a courtyard of some sort, lit by the moon, and looked much more welcoming than where he had just been. A pair of fancy pillars stood at the beginning of a long stone path that led to a building that looked like some kind of oriental mansion. Old, ragged bushes lined the walls, twisted and lifeless, dead grass on either side of the path.

The ghost teen was so focused on the sight that he almost didn't notice a girl standing down the road. He finally spotted her, and the sight gave him chills. She was dressed in a white formal kimono, blood splattered and stained all over the front. She laughed quietly to herself, just loud enough for Phantom to hear.

He raised his camera and flashed it, but lo and behold, she was too far away for a clean shot, and simply disappeared, her laughter lingering a moment longer.

With a loud growl, Phantom shook the device, **"You have the crappiest range!"**

He looked to his left and then to his right, but saw nothing menacing trying to rip his soul out. With a heavy sigh, he reached into his pocket, "Screw it," and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Phantom was somewhat of a closet smoker; only a few people knew he did it, and he'd only have one once or twice a week, or when he was overly stressed, and now was as good a time as any. Fighting ghosts in the human world and dealing with the Fentons was stressful enough, but _here_? Most people would probably be crapping their pants right about now. He pulled a cigarette out, settled it in his lips, and flicked on his zippo lighter, which was engraved with a non-smoking sign for humor. Taking a deep puff and exhaling slowly, he could already feel himself relaxing.

The ghost teen leaned back against the door and slid to a relaxed sitting position, resting his arms on his knees as they bent.

"I wonder how Fenton's doing ... " he said quietly to himself, taking another drag, " ... hope he's okay ... "

Phantom was always protective over his counterpart, but did his best not to show it at times with his tough guy composure. The silver-haired teen had every right to, after what happened that day. He furrowed his brow and bowed his head as old memories came to him that he had hoped to forget, but would be engraved in his mind forever.


End file.
